It is, of course, the newest edition, but this September issue also marks a new direction for the 91-year-old magazine.

Over the past several months, the editors have sifted and studied reams of data from Workforce readership studies, analyzing the trends and topics you said were essential to the business of HR. We listened as business leaders told us what’s on their minds, and we dove deep into the functional areas of HR practice to determine what’s on the horizon.

We re-established the Workforce editorial advisory board, which is composed of industry leaders, content experts and HR executives from leading companies, to guide our decision-making. With one eye fixed on content, we kept the other focused on the shifting media landscape and how readers consume information to make sure we didn’t lose sight of how you want that content delivered.

We did all this with a single purpose in mind: establish Workforce as the premier media title at the intersection of business and the practice of HR. Our goals are simple but challenging: continually scan the horizon for emerging developments and critical trends in business and society and then analyze and break them down for the management of human resources. In other words, we want to help you do your job better.

To carry out that mission, we’ve made a significant investment into the print magazine you hold in your hands. In addition to redesigning it to add more pages, we’ve added some exciting new features starting this month. They include:

• Profile story: In each issue we’ll profile an intriguing figure we think has something important to say not just about the practice of HR, but about where management and business are headed. This month, it’s author Shawn Achor and his mission to turn the pursuit of happiness into a powerful management tool.

• More in-depth features: The practice of HR continues to grow in scope and importance, and each issue will bring you additional feature coverage on emerging topics to keep you informed and ready to drive your organization’s strategy going forward. Case in point is Senior Editor Rita Pyrillis’ article this month on the growing number of workers torn between work and growing family responsibilities at home.

• Industry special reports: Each issue, we’ll also have dedicated coverage of critical industry sectors incorporating analysis and data and the ever-popular Workforce Hot List of vendors and suppliers. You’ll have a regular report from our experts and editors that will keep you up to date on developments in the core HR areas.

• Expanded and redesigned departments: We understand that your time is precious and the demands of your job aren’t shrinking anytime soon. Starting with this issue, we’ve redesigned the For Your Benefit and Trending sections to add more variety of news and information in bite-sized fashion. From articles and updates to infographics and interviews, we’ll keep you posted on the latest.

• New legal section: Employment law is a constantly moving target and being out of compliance can cost you big time. We’ve added a dedicated section in the front of the magazine with case analysis along with the latest regulatory and policy updates to keep you on the right side of the law.

• Expanded commentary: Information is one thing. Knowing what to do with it is another. With that distinction in mind, we’ve added columnists to the Legal, Trending and For Your Benefit sections. Employment law attorney Jon Hyman anchors the legal section. Workforce editor Ed Frauenheim adds his voice to the Trending section with his Work in Progress column. And in the benefits section, Kelley Butler, editorial director with Benz Communications and former editor-in-chief of Employee Benefit News, will alternate with health care policy experts Gary Kushner and Ben Cohen.

The redesigned and reinvigorated magazine isn’t the only new thing you’ll see from us this month. Starting Sept. 10 in New York, Workforce is launching a brand-new event series called Workforce Live.

This all-morning event — the first of its kind for Workforce — will bring together a group of local HR executives to share innovative practices that have made their organizations an employer of choice. After New York, Workforce Live will stop in San Francisco on Sept. 24 and Atlanta on Oct. 15 before ending the season in Chicago on Oct. 29. For more information, go to workforce.com/events.

With this new event series — and the September issue — you’ll see our tangible investment to provide you with the critical information and deep insights that will allow you and your organization to develop lasting strategies that make HR a continued source of strength for your organization.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the new Workforce. Drop me a line to let me know what you think: mikep@workforce.com.